10/ 02/ 2008
by Charles O'Connell
In every work setting that includes more than just a few people, there will usually be groups of workers who band together. Such cliques or informal groups can have considerable influence over the attitudes and behaviors of individual workers, often to the extent of causing problems for the manager and for some employees.
A clique is simply a group of people with shared goals or interests, who are few enough in number for each to know and communicate with all others personally. A workforce of any size includes groups of people who "hang together" for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they do similar work or have another factor in common, such as membership on a bowling team or involvement in some other activity. Or a clique may be a friendship group that evolves informally to meet members' personal needs for security, belonging, esteem, or such.
A clique may be further defined by rules or behaviors that are expected of and accepted by its members, and by the tendency of its members to gravitate toward an informal leader. Unconsciously, members recognize a form of authority that isn't imposed by any structure.
Someone in every group is the most trusted or the most charismatic; group members look up to this person and accept this individual's advice and guidance. This is potentially one of the strongest forms of leadership--no organizational authority exists, but the informal leader possesses one of the most important characteristics of true leadership: the voluntary acceptance of the followers. Acceptance of this leadership may be based partly on charisma and partly on the person's perceived ability to help members obtain what they want.
The mention of cliques carries a generally negative connotation, although this is not always necessarily so. If a group's norms are generally the same as the department's or company's norms, all is well; however, if group norms conflict with formal rules there's bound to be trouble.
Cliques can exist harmlessly, but they can be chronically troublesome if friction or tension exists between groups. Feuding groups are destructive, and intergroup tension can easily affect productivity. There is also the strong likelihood of trouble between cliques and individuals who may be excluded. Cliques are harmful when they are exclusionary, and they are sometimes harmful in their ability to magnify gossip and rumors. Overall, any informal group can influence the attitudes and behaviors of individual members and others for good or for ill.
One of the hazards of cliques or other informal groups involves union organizing tactics. When scoping out an organization for a possible union organizing effort, organizers look for the informal leaders of groups in target departments. If an informal leader can be convinced to support the union, this person can often sway an entire group in that direction.
Some pointers for managing in the presence of cliques and other informal groups:
- Treat all employees equally regardless of whether they are part of some informal group or not.
- A clique should be no concern as long as all members are turning out acceptable work and cooperating as needed.
- Learn to recognize the signs of an under-producing group: members working at a level beneath their capacity; a member who produces more than the others having problems within the group; and new members adjusting to the group's normal level of productivity.
- Establish yourself with the group's informal leader to gain the cooperation of the group. If you can move the informal leader, you can move the group. You want the person who seems to be setting the pace for the group on your side.
- Avoid alienating the leader; this can alienate the entire group.
- Keep workers constructively occupied. Bored employees have time to be troublesome. When unrest is evident, break up the group or rotate jobs and rearrange workstations if possible.
The key to managing a clique or other informal group is to recognize its most popular informal leader, cultivate that person's cooperation and maintain an open relationship. There is, however, one strong precaution advised in such a relationship: Never allow yourself to be drawn into "negotiating" with the informal leader on behalf of the group, especially concerning any terms and conditions of employment. Such negotiating can be interpreted as usurping the rights of organized labor and can make the company susceptible to unionization.
